Ghoultide Gathering Artist

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Art Doll Quarterly, August 2013, pages 46-49

Prims, Fall issue 2011, pages 22-27

A Primitive Place, Fall 2011, p 14

Prims Magazine, pages 6-9

Celebrate 365, Winter Issue

Monkey-Cats' Work on p. 22

Celebrate 365, Fall Issue 2010

Monkey-Cats' work on p. 21

Monkey-Cats Studio

These are the reason for "Monkey-Cats" Studio receiving the name. Pretty cute when they were kittens but they are now 9 years old, still think they are kittens and try to fit in the same spaces on my studio table. For some reason these two have very long tails like a monkey and received the nickname monkey boys from my husband. We are sure they can swing upside down by those tails! Their real names are Jake and Elwood, after the Blues Brothers, because they try to do the right thing but they are just naughty.

Seasonal Paintings

Trick or Treat Moon Pie

Pumpkin Halloween Parade

Trick or Treat Celestial Charlie

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Thank you for a very successful blog sale. Your support of my work continues to humble and move me in ways you will never understand. Working alone in a studio with just two cats as companions throughout the day sometimes makes me question whether I am on the right track or not. Thank goodness for blogs, facebook and emails to allow me some human feedback besides that of my husband and the department heads at the local craft store. (Sad, but true) Meeting some of you at Ghoultide Gathering is always such a pleasure, but I know that it is impossible for many of you to attend so tonight's blog sale was a way for me to reach out to collectors outside of the show venue. I hope you enjoy your purchases and I thank you for your very kind words regarding my work.

I will be entering into a major house project in the next few weeks so creating will be limited during the window and door replacements, and then we move into the Christmas Tree season, but I am hopeful I will have time to create a few Christmas holiday pieces. Keep an eye out and I will keep you posted on upcoming works!

Friday, October 10, 2014

We just returned from Michigan late last night and I will have a few Halloween items available for a blog sale. I will be opening the sale, here on the blog, at 8 p.m. Central Time, on Sunday evening, October 12. Here is a preview of a few of the items that will be offered for sale.

A small pumpkin candy container ....

a little Squash character ...

a kitty candy container....

and a few other characters with measurements and prices listed this Sunday.

Hope to see you here on Sunday, and as always, thank you for your consideration and support of my work!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Ghoultide Gathering is this weekend, October 4th in Chelsea, Michigan. If you are in the area and love Halloween art it is some of the finest in the country, which I am humbled to be included as a participant. I have been working for months sculpting and painting and hope to have created something magical for collectors to enjoy. I hope to see you Saturday, and please grab my elbow to tell me hello if you make the journey!

Above is a photograph of Milton Mouse and a few other characters in the works. They are now all painted and bundled in bubble wrap to make their trek to Ghoultide.

I have a new Frankenstein figure this year that is designed more off of the Boris Karloff portrayal of the monster, and also new this year is the "Bride." Her hair looks better in person.

Count Siegfried Overbite will also be at Ghoultide to Trick or Treat this year....something tells me he is more of a trickster so I think I need to keep a watchful eye on this character!!

Edgar will also be making an appearance on my table this year....with a raven on his wrist of course and.....

Burton Bat will also be flying in to take part in the festivities. Burton is my first fully sculpted bat figure so I'm excited to add bats to my repertoire. Many other figures and lanterns and new candy containers will also be joining the group this year.

I hope to see you in Chelsea.

For those of you unable to attend Ghoultide, I will be hosting a blog sale here on Sunday, October 12th, at 8 p.m. I will sell the works to the first collectors to email me after the sale begins on Sunday evening on a first come first serve basis. I will be posting more about the sell in the following week.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you liked what I was sharing! Hope to see you at Ghoultide!!Laurie

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Peter is already sold.Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her, he put her in a pumpkin shell and there he kept her very well.

Peter made a lovely pumpkin shell home for his wife and here she is popping out the roof to survey everything around her.

Peter is actually quite smitten with his wife and keeps a pretty close eye on her to assure she stays in her lovely abode.

Peter has the perfect hands and fingers to dig out the pumpkin seeds from the structure he made....which I guess sort of makes him a vegetarian cannibal of sorts since he and his wife are also pumpkins. Oh dear, I guess there is a slight twist to the story!!

Peter and his lovely wife are $395 plus shipping. I will sell the work to the first collector to email me following the opening of the EHAG Emporium with the price of the piece in the subject line of the email. Email me at: monkeycatsstudio@charter.net

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

I love this old nursery rhyme and and gave it a Monkey-Cats twist and turned Peter and his wife into pumpkin figures.

For
those of you unfamiliar with my work, my figures are hand-sculpted of
paper mache, painted in acrylic paint and sealed with a matte polymer
varnish. This figure stands 15.5" tall and measures 7" in width. The
figure will come signed, numbered and dated.

As part of the EHAG Emporium Challenge, I will be offering Peter and his wife for sale at 9 p.m. (ET) tomorrow night, April 30th. I will sell the work to the first collector to email me after the Emporium opens with the price of the piece in the subject line.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The first work for Ghoultide Gathering is beginning to be finished in the studio. It is such a pleasure to start the painting process on the poor little paper mache forms that seemed to be begging for color. Color, after all, does bring out the personality in all of the characters I create.

I had a great time sculpting this piece as well, especially that little flow in her skirt as she prepares to take off for her next fight. Paper mache is an interesting material and getting it to bend to my will is often an effort. Lets just say that the paper mache and I disagreed a little bit, but it finally gave in to my persuasion and tender touches....plus a few kind words to praise it's performance for not tearing free from her body form.

This
is little Twila "Twilight" Wicked, (For those of you that follow my
work, you already know that all of my witches are from the "Wicked"
family.) who is cheered by her family for her bewitching broom skills.
Not only can this little witch fly a good broom, but she can expertly
cast a spell on it to sweep, poke and play tricks on her companions.Hope you like the direction this year's work is taking. I'll be giving more peeks as works are completed.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Time seems to be flying by, and all of a sudden it is almost mid-April! I have been in the studio working on Halloween figures and thought I would share. Yep, that's right, Halloween production has already started in paper mache. I have a few witches going, a number of pumpkin characters, a couple of owls and numerous other sketches of new figures scheduled for sculpting.

I've noticed something the last few years....I seem to be getting slower the older I'm getting. I'd like to believe that my figures are getting more complex, but I'm afraid it just might be a wondering brain and arthritic fingers. Regardless, things are at least getting done in the sculpting stage and I'm preparing for a period of painting to bring the characters to life.

I am also happy to share that I will be returning to Ghoultide Gathering this fall in Chelsea, Michigan. I look forward to being a part of this wondrous event and meeting once again with such a group of "ghoulie" artists. I think I love them as much as I love the work they create and what a wonderful gift it is to be a part of something with such great spirit. You take the artists and add excited customers to the mix and it makes a day filled full of merriment! We would love to see you there, so here is a link to Ghoultide Gathering's website for further details.

Time for me to get back to the studio table to finish the sculpting! Have a glorious weekend and a very Happy Easter. Here is a bunny to let you know I'm still in the spirit of Spring!!!

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Priscilla Paisley is my first female bunny rabbit. She stands right at 9.75" tall and is covered in a paisley pattern I created for her upper torso and a line pattern I created for her lower form. I had absolutely no idea how long it would take to paint each line, dot and swirl when I started this pattern, but by the time I had it figured out I was already too far along to back out of the process. Days later she is finished. This all started because I thought it would be interesting to see what I could do with a "pretty in pink" concept. Lesson learned!!

Priscilla will be for sale tomorrow afternoon on this blog (Note: my definition of afternoon is based on the Central time zone) I will post her with her price and shipping fee.... the first collector to discover the post, wishing to purchase her and emails me with the cost of the piece in the subject line will be the collector I will sell the work to.

Here is a close up of Priscilla's German glass glitter egg, bow and thin line that divides the paisley pattern from her line pattern. It also shows the detail of the paisley design.

Priscilla has a single paisley design on her back....I had to stop somewhere!!!Hope to see you tomorrow!Laurie